


Divine Right

by Energybeing



Series: Everybody Wants To Rule The World [2]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-10
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-03 18:30:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4110817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Energybeing/pseuds/Energybeing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the silence, Illyria stood and pointed at Loki. "This man is your king."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This story is the sequel to ‘Why Earth?’ and won't make much sense if you haven’t read it. The events of this story take place about ten years after Not Fade Away and after Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It ignores the Buffyverse comics.

The thing about politics, Natasha reflected, was how slowly things can go. Sure, on occasion, things happened quickly – but more often than not, things dragged on and on, and there were endless speeches and manoeuvring.

Asgard wasn’t any different. She wasn’t sure how long it had been since Loki had revealed to everyone that he had supplanted Odin and ruled Asgard for months. Even though Odin had been released and had taken back his throne, no one was any closer to working out what to do with his adopted son. He might be a lying schemer, but he had saved them from Ymir. 

So, Loki wasn’t in a cell. He had opulent rooms, as befitting a prince of Asgard. He just didn’t leave them. Guards at his door made sure he didn’t. People didn’t come to visit… not because they didn’t trust him and didn’t want to come near him, although for many that was a large part of it, but because Odin had decreed that he be left in isolation. Natasha might have suspected that the All-Father wanted to leave Loki to rot, were it not for the fact that Asgardians lived for thousands of years and just leaving him there wasn’t really practical.

Of course, she wasn’t doing much better. It was known that she was from Earth, and that Loki had caused untold destruction on what the Asgardians persisted in calling one of ‘her’ cities. They knew that she had come looking for him, thinking that Loki had faked his death. For these reasons, she was allowed to move around the city. She could go where she liked.

But she also corroborated Loki’s story of how Ymir had been defeated. It wasn’t said to her face, but she heard it whispered behind her back. They thought she’d been brainwashed, her weak Midgardian mind nothing but a plaything for a man like Loki. So wherever she went, she was followed by guards. She was watched.

And then, one day, over the daily feast that passed for breakfast on Asgard, Odin stood. Silence fell over the tables as everyone turned to look at their king. 

“The trial will be today.”

~*~

The purpose of power, Thanos reflected, was not to exert dominion over others. That was just a by-product – an enjoyable one, to be sure, but certainly not the main goal. Simply enough, if you had power, sooner or later all things come to you. He could sit on his chair, and a network of operatives could comb the galaxy, furthering his ends. People would come to him, with information or pleas or for countless other reasons, and his power would grow. Eventually, with just a word, he could topple regimes and end civilisations. All because people came to him, and so his power spread like a spiders web.

Like today. Today he was facing a creature of a sort that he had never seen before. He was told that it had asked an audience with him, and proceeded to kill his Chitauri soldiers until it was granted. Seemingly, it was a skilled fighter. It had taken a not inconsiderable effort to subdue it. Thanos would have ordered its destruction, but he was curious.

It was humanoid, more or less. It was tall, and thin, and had too many arms. Thanos was not familiar with the life forms of Earth, but if he had been he might have noticed that it bore some similarity to an insect. There were notable exceptions, of course – it was a pale frosty blue, for example, and its eyes looked like chips of ice. Only on Jotunheim could it possibly camouflage itself.

“What is it that you want?” Thanos asked the creature.

“We want to eliminate the people of Asgard.” The creature said.

“We?”

“My king.” The creature said. “My people.

Thanos leaned back in his chair. “I am not patient. I will not continue to question you. If you don’t reveal your purpose here, I will simply kill you.”

“Some time ago, my king’s realm was… invaded by someone from Midgard. We wish to retaliate, but we know that that realm is currently under the protection of Asgard. If we annihilate them, then Midgard is free to fall before us.” The creature grinned, a feral grin with far too many sharp, pointed teeth. “My king has a long standing grudge against the people of Asgard. Their demise will be much celebrated. We come to you because we require ships.”

“Why should I give you ships? I have my own soldiers. If I wanted to move against Asgard, I can do it myself. Why should I aid your efforts?”

“Your soldiers are we weak. We are strong. We will fall upon Asgard like a plague. And once they are subdued… then the end time begins.”

Thanos raised a hand. As he did so, the creature rose gently off the ground. “I have already said that I will not ask questions. Your answers raise more questions than they lay to rest. Speak, creature, or I will crush you.”

“My king is Surtur.” The creature said, seemingly unmoved by the threat, as though those words explained everything.

Thanos frowned, and lowered his hand. “Surtur? I had thought that the eldjötnar was content to wait until the end of days. Why then does he stir now?”

“As I say, his realm was invaded. He does not take such an encroachment lightly. He was content to wait until it was time… but things do not always happen as they should. The fire giants grow restless.”

“You, however, are not of Muspelheim.”

The creature smiled again. “Are we not? My people are old. The language that spoke of us has long since ceased to be used. Writings on us have crumbled into dust aeons ago. Even our name is forgotten. None dare venture into the realm of my king. How then, can people know who dwells there? But I see that even now you are unconvinced. Very well. It is well known that you seek the Infinity Stones. It is also well known that there is one located on Asgard.”

Once again, the creature showed its teeth. This time, though, it was nothing even resembling a smile. Not even close. “Give us ships, and the Tesseract is yours.”

~*~

Natasha didn’t have the slightest idea how trials on Asgard worked. She doubted that there were lawyers or people wearing wigs. Honestly, she wouldn’t be surprised if Odin just called everyone together to tell them that he was going to throw Loki into a deep dark pit and leave him there for a few thousand years. If he did, there would probably be cheers.

So, as Natasha went into the great hall, she wasn’t sure what to expect.

But she certainly didn’t expect to see a familiar figure with blue hair making her way there as well. “Illyria?” The Old One turned. She didn’t say anything. Quite possibly she thought that Natasha simply wasn’t worth replying to. She certainly didn’t seem to be surprised to see her there. “Are you here for the trial?”

“I am.” Illyria replied simply. 

She obviously hadn't been invited, though, not going by the looks of the Asgardians. She couldn’t have come via the Bifrost. Natasha wondered what Illyria was here for – out of everyone on Earth, she expected that Illyria would be the least interested in proceedings.

The pair went into the great hall. Loki was sitting at the front, two stupendously well-muscled guards sitting on either side of him and some sort of gag preventing him from speaking. Other Asgardians were sitting dotted around the room, or leaning against pillars, or warming themselves by the fire that roared in the centre of the room. It looked fairly informal, except for Odin sitting on a chair only a short step from being a throne.

Odin looked at Illyria for a brief second, and then stood. Everyone quieted down as their leader began to speak. “I have deliberated a long time on the matter of… my son’s crime. I think that it would be-“

And then there was silence. Not the kind of respectful silence that had previously filled the room. Even the fire made no noise. Natasha, curious, clicked her fingers. The sound wasn't muted. There simply was no noise, not a single decibel.

In the silence, Illyria stood and pointed at Loki. “This man is your king.”


	2. Chapter Two

Natasha didn’t need to hear the responses to this declaration to know what they were. Most of them were variations on the theme of outrage and confusion. A few had stood up and, if there had been any sound, would doubtlessly be asking who this preposterous intruder was. Odin, however, appeared unmoved. If he was angry, there was no sign. He simply looked at Illyria.

“This man is your king.” Illyria said again. “He has ruled this world for months, and has done so wisely and well. He fought to save this realm from Ymir while all of you were incapacitated. Meanwhile, Thor is on Earth, having shirked his duties. What kind of ruler would turn his back on his people? Even there, he does not rule. That role is taken by a human. He follows the orders of one whose ancestors worshipped you as gods… while Loki took the reins of power and rebuilt after the battle with the Elves. Surely, then, he is a better ruler than he brash man-child whom it pleases Odin to call his heir? As for Odin himself-“

“No.” The voice wasn’t loud, but in this all-encompassing silence it didn’t have to be. Even a dropped pin would have seemed loud. Odin continued. “You enter my hall uninvited. You dare to use magic without my permission. You malign my son and seek to exalt this traitor. I will not have you speak further on this matter. You will break the enchantment you have placed, and that is all. You should be glad that I do not string you from the rafters.”

Natasha was sure that Illyria would fight back. Perhaps she would continue to speak, or maybe even throw a table at Odin for the effrontery of his interruption. She seemed like the sort of person who wouldn’t obey threats, no matter how menacingly spoken. She didn’t seem like the sort of person to back down.

So she was surprised when Illyria sat down, and the sound came rushing back, complete with angry voices. As soon as she had done so, Odin stopped looking at her and gave no indication that she was still present. This, she realised, was the manner of a man who had been a king, and a king of gods, for millennia. It wasn’t that Illyria was no beneath his notice – she was invisible, unneeded, like furniture. She had obeyed, and that was all there was to it.

“Loki. You are a traitor. You practice the art of seiðr, and you have used this womanly magic to seize power. How can I recognise you as my heir when you so desperately try to grasp power like a child clutching at the hem of his mother’s dress?” Odin said. Although Natasha knew it was definitely a rebuke, and judging by people’s reactions a scathing one, she was interested to note that Odin’s voice wasn’t angry or scolding. He sounded genuinely sad. She knew that Loki wasn’t truly an Asgardian, but he had been raised as one for millennia. Odin had treated him as a son. It was interesting to see the difference between the king and the All-Father. “However, it is true. You have ruled well. You have been a good king, and you have saved our people.”

Odin paused for a brief second, and then continued. “I had thought to punish you, but I cannot decide what such a punishment might be. Perhaps you have atoned for your crimes through your actions. Your decision to step down speaks volumes. So, I will not punish you.”

Outcry. Dozens of voices, protesting how Loki had duped them, pulled the wool over their eyes, how he had caused the death of untold thousands of Midgardians.

Odin took not notice. He didn’t need to. “I will not punish you. It is not up to me to decide your fate.”

Loki, who had hitherto been seemingly unmoved by both Illyria’s surprise speech in his favour and Odin’s condemnation of him, straightened at this. It seemed like the only thing keeping him from bolting were the guards at his sides.

“I therefore decree that you will travel until you find the Well of the Norns and learn your wyrd. Until such time you are declared rata. You are an outcast. No one of Asgard or Vanaheim will raise a hand to your aid, and nor will they strike you down. Your name is not to be spoken – it will pass out of memory. They will not recognise your existence. That will be your doom.”

Sif stood. “May I speak?” Odin inclined his head. “This one was proved tricky in the past. It may be that he will return to his people, the Jotuns, rather than seek the well. He may stir their antagonism towards us. It might be for the best if someone was to accompany him, to ensure that he does indeed seek them out.”

Odin appeared to mull this over. “Your point has merit. Perhaps you-“

Natasha wasn’t quite sure what happened next. Perhaps, because she was human, her eyes weren’t sharp enough to catch it. It seemed as though Odin had been about to speak to Sif – and then Illyria had her arms wrapped around Sif’s head, twisting it painfully well outside its normal range of motion. And then Illyria said, as calmly as if she hadn’t just assaulted one of Asgard’s top warriors and put them in a neck lock in front of dozens of people, “This woman is unsuitable. She has a strong bias against Loki. If an escort is necessary, it will not be someone who may well choose to eliminate Loki simply out of distaste.”

Sif wanted to strike back, to defend herself – but if Illyria continued to twist, she could seriously damage her spine, and Sif wasn’t sure enough of the other woman’s fighting prowess to risk a struggle, not with herself compromised. Similarly, the guards looked like they wanted to leap to her defence, but didn’t want to take the chance that Sif might be injured. It looked like a stalemate.

“I’ll go.” Natasha said. “I came here to figure out what Loki was up to in the first place. Plus, I'm not an Asgardian, so it won't matter if I'm consorting with an outcast or whatever.”

“So it shall be. What I have said will come to pass, and Loki’s companion will share in this doom.” Odin said, and then turned back to Illyria, no doubt to force her to release Sif. Illyria already had, however, and was already several paces away so that Sif wouldn’t be able to take a swing at her. “As for you, you will be taken to a cell. It would behove you to go without a fight. It will go poorly if you struggle.”

Illyria left demurely, as though she hadn't just attacked someone and forced them into submission. She was towered over by guards on all sides.

Odin, meanwhile, walked over to Loki and removed his gag. After having done so, he left. He did not look at Loki nor at Natasha. Indeed, he gave no indication that he even knew they were there. Shortly after, the other Asgardians began to leave as well. Loki stood, and walked over to Natasha.

As he did so, Natasha noticed something strange. The other Asgardians, as they left the hall, walked around Loki. Not as though he was a person in their way, but as though he was perhaps a pillar, or a chair. Just a piece of furniture. She watched as two men splitting to walk around Loki and continuing on their conversation as though he simply wasn’t there.

“So, how have you been?” said Loki, God of Lies and Mischief, briefly the King of Asgard, one-time ally of Thanos and the man who had laid waste to New York, politely.

At that point, Natasha began to think that she might just be getting in over her head a little bit.


	3. Chapter Three

Natasha shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh, you know. I’ve just volunteered to babysit you while you go and do something that I don’t really understand. The usual.”

Loki tilted his head. “We’re going to find the Norns so I can learn my wyrd. What’s there not to understand?”

“Norns… they’re those three fortune telling old women, right?” Natasha said. Normally, in such a situation, she wouldn’t admit that she didn’t fully understand what she had signed up for. But if she tried to bluff, Loki would catch it, and besides, there wasn’t really any point in pretending she knew what was going on. She knew that she’d volunteered to keep an eye on Loki, because that was what she was here for… the rest, be it truly giant frost giants or a quest to find three old women, was just a by-product of that.

“More or less.” Loki nodded. “Come with me. I will explain.”

Natasha wondered if perhaps going for a stroll with someone who had cheerfully brainwashed Clint and killed Coulson was a good idea. Not that she had much choice in the matter, really. So she fell into step beside him.

“A wyrd is… like destiny, or fate. My future. Whether I'm destined to rule Asgard or...”

“Suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune?” Natasha volunteered.

Loki looked at her in surprise. “Yes. Well put.”

Natasha decided not to credit Shakespeare. “Thank you. So you're saying that Asgard has ready access to women who can tell the future, and will let you know if you're ever going to be king… and instead you invade Earth and usurp your father. Why wouldn’t you go and see them in the first place?”

Loki shrugged. “The usual reasons. They’re hard to find, and the path is dangerous.” He didn’t add that no one wanted to know their future, not really. People had occasionally come back. Only a few. They never spoke of what the Norn’s told them, but they tended to have a haunted look in their eyes.

Natasha seemed to hear what he wasn’t saying anyway. “I see.”

“So.” Loki said in a cheerful voice “Until I find them and return, I'm an outcast. So are you, by the way.”

“Oh no, I’ll never be able to show my face in Asgard again.” Natasha said dryly. “I’d think that trekking around with you pretty much ruins my reputation around here anyway.”

Loki looked at her. “You don’t understand, do you? Do don’t know what Odin’s done.”

Natasha tilted her head. “Forced us to go find some dangerous fortune tellers? What’s not to understand?”

Loki didn’t answer her. Instead, he stepped in front of a passing Asgardian. “Excuse me. You are an unmitigated buffoon who couldn’t even find your way to a battlefield, let alone stand against a foe of greater strength than a small cat.”

Although Natasha thought that the insult was more like the sort of thing that a boy of a twelve with a peculiarly archaic vocabulary than an exiled prince, she assumed that in the Asgardian culture that it was a dire insult.

So she was rather surprised when the Asgardian stepped around Loki as one would walk around a tree in your path – not really taking any notice of it, just the fact that it was there. He gave no indication that Loki had spoken. He didn’t even look at Loki, not really.

Loki walked back to Natasha. “We aren’t just outcasts. They literally don’t see us. To them, we don’t exist. That is the doom my father placed upon my head. You too.”

Natasha turned and looked at the Asgardian as he walked away. “How?”

“Magic, of course. My father is rather skilled at it.” Loki looked down at his hands. “At certain types, at least.”

“Okay then. So the entire Asgardian race-“

“And the Vanir also.“

“- are ignoring us. Fine. Where are we going?”

Loki threw open a door and gestured grandly at the bridge over the abyss which led to the Bifrost. “We are going to Jotunheim.” He paused, and then said much more quietly “My birthplace.”

Natasha sighed. “Of course. The realm filled with your kind. Where else would we go on some dangerous mission?”

Loki smiled. “Your candour is refreshing. Few would dare call me a Jotun, even now.”

“Honestly? I thought you’d kill the moment I worked out who you are. I'm still kind of surprised that you didn’t let Ymir kill me… or take his offer. After that, I'm guessing you're not going to do anything now.”

Without a second’s pause, Natasha was dangling over the abyss, Loki’s hand wrapped around her throat. She couldn’t breathe, and as she scrabbled at his hand she couldn’t even loosen the grip of even a single finger. “Make no mistake, Midgardian. I could kill you now and no one would ever know. Your Avengers would search for you in vain. No one would know what had happened to you, and I could get away as free as a bird. I could go to Jotunheim alone and force my people to acknowledge me as their king.” Loki put her down and gently brushed imaginary lint from her shoulders. “But I am not a barbarian. You might think, after New York and what you have seen here, that all I desire is to rule. And you would be wrong. Do not make the mistake of thinking that you know what I want. Do not presume to know what motivates me.”

There were a lot of things that Natasha could say to that. She was almost certain that she knew exactly what it was that Loki wanted, but she was equally sure that if she said it then Loki would kick her into the void without a second thought.

So instead she followed him to the Bifrost.

~*~

The dungeons beneath Asgard contained far less people than there had once been, before the Dark Elves had broken many prisoners out. But there was still more than enough to make a great deal of noise when Odin walked in. He paid them no attention. He was only here to see one prisoner.

Illyria was sitting on the floor when Odin stopped in front of her cell. Her eyes were closed, and she gave no indication that she knew he was there.

“Which realm are you from?” Odin asked.

For a long time, Illyria didn’t respond. Odin thought she was ignoring him. He turned to leave, thinking that he would withhold her food and return the next day to ask her the same question. She’d answer eventually.

“Midgard.” Illyria replied. “At the moment.”

“What do you mean, at the moment?”

Illyria opened her eyes. They were icy blue, calm, and completely, utterly inhuman. “You are so small. You think that I must be from one of the nine realms of your precious tree. Do you really think that, just because your bridge lets you travel to any world you wish, that there aren’t any beings who could take a single step sideways as easy as you travel forwards?”

“That is no answer.”

“Is it not? Perhaps you simply haven’t the wit to understand me.”

“If you are from Midgard, why do you support the exile? Surely, after all that he had done to your planet you would glad to see him dead.”

“He interests me.” Illyria said simply. “That is all.”

“You are not human. Nor are you a demon. Heimdall informs me that the manner in which you arrived wasn’t magic, and yet you quite clearly demonstrated your ability to use it. Heimdall also tells me that, on Midgard, you have claimed to be an Old One. The story the exile told says that you were amongst those to defeat Ymir. Assuming that this is true, why would you be interested in him? What is there about him that would draw the eye of one such as you?”

“You are a poor king.” Illyria said. Her voice wasn’t insulting. It was simply factual. “You cast down those that you should raise up. You have stagnated. My motives are my own. If you cannot discern them, then that is of no consequence to me.”

“You are aware that you are my prisoner? You cannot leave unless I allow you to. And I will not, unless you tell me why you came here, and why you support the exile?”

Illyria smiled. It was not the sort of smile that you might see on a human face. It was more like the expression you might see on a snake, as it has you in its coils and is about to crush the life out you and there isn’t anything, not a single thing, that you can do about it. “Of course I know that.”

~*~

Natasha wondered if every time she went somewhere with an Asgard she’d end up both cold and underdressed. First, Ymir had shown up and she had almost frozen to death. Now she was on Jotunheim, and she hadn’t thought to dress warmly enough for a temperature that made Siberia seem like the Bahamas.

Loki didn’t seem to be bothered by it, which, when she stopped to think about it as hardly surprising. “Behold, the mountain of the Norns!”

Natasha looked where he was pointing. Then she looked back at Loki. “There’s nothing there. Besides, I thought we were looking for a well.”

Loki smirked. “Look again.”

Natasha looked again. Then she looked up, her head craning backwards until she was looking straight above her. “You have magic, right? Is there any chance you can conjure up some warm clothing and supplies? Lots of supplies?”

Loki laughed.


	4. Chapter Four

The first thing that Natasha noticed about the mountain (besides its sudden, inexplicable appearance) was that it wasn’t steep. From Loki’s somewhat ominous description of the journey, she had imagined it to be almost vertical, besides the obligatory bottomless crevasse. It wasn’t. If it wasn’t for its height, she would have called it a hill.

But it was high. Very high. It just carried on rising, a gentle incline that just kept on going until it got lost in the clouds. It would probably take weeks to climb.

Weeks of walking with no food at ridiculously cold temperatures. Natasha was really glad that she’d volunteered for this one.

But the second thing that she noticed about the mountain was this – when she and Loki started walking on it, it wasn’t cold. Oh, to be sure, it wasn’t exactly warm, but she no longer felt as though the wind was turning her bones to ice and making little glaciers in her veins. It just felt like a chilly room. She didn’t feel hungry, either. Of course, she had eaten an Asgardian meal just before she’d left, but that only lasted so long. She just didn’t feel hungry. She didn’t feel full, either, not exactly. 

“So, what’s the deal with this mountain?” Natasha asked. The question was an innocent one, she knew. She expected that Loki’s massive conceit would lead him to sneer at her for asking something which every Asgardian child probably knew. But, if she could engage him in conversation, then maybe she’d be able to find out more about this man. The man who had given up a kingdom he had stolen.

Loki didn’t reply immediately. For a while, Natasha thought that he was ignoring her. She wouldn’t be surprised. It seemed like the kind of thing that he would do.

Then he said “You know, you aren’t nearly as clever as you think you are.”

Nothing showed on Natasha’s face, and her voice was light with just the right amount of confusion in it when she said “What are you talking about?”

“Do you think that I became known as the God of Lies because I was so transparent that a simple question could lead to me revealing my thoughts? Do you think that it is that easy?” Loki wasn’t angry, Natasha noticed. He spoke as though he was berating a small child.

It was rather sobering, actually.

“It worked before.”

“You refer to the incident with that monster that you choose to associate yourself with? Do you think that you could have garnered any information from me, should I not wish to share it? You have said so yourself – if I had succeeded on Midgard, a whole realm would have fallen under my dominion. If not, then I would be perfectly placed to seize control of Asgard, as indeed I did. All your struggles were ultimately to further my ends.”

“Yes, I know. I came to Asgard because I figured that out. But what I want to know is – why would someone so casually cause the deaths of thousands, tens of thousands in pursuit of a goal, only to throw it away? You could have been king. You could have killed me and been hailed as a hero for saving Asgard from Ymir. You’re the kind of selfish person who would do that. So I can’t help but thinking that there is some kind of ulterior motive here.”

“I could break you right her and now.” Loki said. His voice was perfectly calm, as though he was commenting on the weather. “I could fracture your mind into a thousand thousand pieces, until you couldn’t even tell which way you were facing without my aid. I could make you believe that we had found the Norns, and that my wyrd was to one day rule over Asgard. You would believe that so firmly that even Odin could not doubt. I could make you my puppet. But I will not. We will follow this quest, though it may lead to both our deaths. Should we survive, we will return to Asgard and whatever awaits me there. That is all. Whatever motive you find there is one of your own devising.”

Natasha had been threatened before. Admittedly, not by aliens on an alien world on some quasi-mystical mountain, but threats were threats. They didn’t really faze her any more. As such, she had no compunctions whatsoever in saying “So you’re doing this to impress Odin then. Hoping to worm your way back into his good books.”

For the first time, Loki stopped walking and turned to face her. “Do you know why your ancestors worshipped us as gods, human? There are many powerful demons on your world, witches possessed of awesome power, and yet they receive only fear. Do you not wonder why we were thought worthy of such adoration?”

Natasha shrugged. “Because you’re strong and you have impressive tech. Not hard to work out. You put Stark and one of his suits a few hundred years ago and you’d have a religion built around him in no time.”

“Because we are like you, but better. We are stronger, faster, more durable. We are more intelligent. While your kind had barely discovered how to make fire, we were already the most powerful of the nine realms. We are not witches, freaks of nature that arise sporadically from your own populace. Nor are we demons, picking off the weak. We are like you, except better. We are what you would like to be. And that is why you worshipped us.” Loki leant forward. “I am better. My ploy with the Chitauri could not help but lead to my success. My grasp of strategy is better than Thor’s, better than Odin’s. I would be a good king. I have taken the throne by subterfuge, and that was a sour victory. I will not add my successes to Odin’s name. When I rule, it will be as me. I will earn that which is mine.”

~*~

Odin once again stood outside Illyria’s cell. Once again, she sat on the floor, eyes closed, giving not even the slightest indication that she knew he was there. “I do not think that you are an Old One.”

“If I cared even a little for your opinion, then I would be offended.” Illyria said blandly.

“I have heard tales of your kind. Of the power that you once wielded. But this… I think you lie.”

“All things diminish, in time. How long as it been since power leapt joyfully from your fingers, as it did when you were young? The Dark Elves caused havoc unopposed, killed your wife – and you did nothing. What power you have now is but a fraction of what you once had.” Illyria opened her eyes. “All things diminish, in time. But the difference between us is that we are on the rise.”

Odin’s eye narrowed. “We?”

“Your confusion when faced with a simple pronoun does not speak well of you.”

Odin let the insult slide. “You said ‘we’. Are there others like you out there?”

“Not even a year has passed since Ymir was defeated within these very walls, and you ask me whether there are more of my kind? I had heard that the memory of the old grows weak, but I had not seen it until now.”

“I tire of your evasions.“

“I tire of your presence. That makes us equal, does it not?” 

“I could force you to answer.”

“By all means, go ahead. I doubt that you have the power to wrest even so much as scream from me, but you are certainly welcome to try.”

“Do you not understand? Your insolence is wasted breath. I can hold you here until the stars grow cold. You are at my mercy. You could simply answer my questions, before I tire of your impudence and leave you here alone for the rest of eternity.”

“I have no need to speak to you. I could tell you that there are dozens of Old Ones on their way right now, and I am just their vanguard. You would not believe me.” Illyria gestured, seeming to take in everything in front of her and subject it to such condescension that it might as well be dust for all the value it held to her. “In any case, you are wrong if you believe that this world will stand that long.”

“Is that a threat?” Odin leant forward. “Believe me, there are far less… comfortable quarters than this. Impertinence I can endure. Threats against my people is not something that I take as lightly.”

“I, on the other hand, do take your threats lightly. You cannot harm me. And I do not think you dare try.”

“Do not tell me what I do or do not dare. I am the All-Father! I-“

Alarms began to sound shrilly.

“Can get interrupted by alarms?” Illyria finished smugly.


	5. Chapter Five

“Kill her if she moves.” Odin told a couple of guards. “If she so much as begins to stand, I want you to scatter her atoms throughout the nine realms.”

While Odin walked away, Illyria just sat there, smiling as though someone had told a joke that only she had understood.

When Odin left the dungeon, he made a gesture and a miniature window appeared in the air above him. A second gesture lead to a man in gold armour appearing in it. “Heimdall. What is happening? What set off the alarms?”

“Several ships have appeared in orbit.” Heimdall replied. “I can’t see inside them.”

“Really? No matter. Have they attempted contact yet?”

“No. They’re just sitting there. We’ve raised shields, of course, and we’re ready should they prove hostile.”

“Good. If they don’t try to communicate in the next five minutes, prepare a boarding party.”

Suddenly, the view on the window cut to something else entirely. Instead of showing Heimdall, it instead revealed a spindly, ice blue creature with too many arms. It grinned, showing a mouth full of sharp, pointed teeth. “That won’t be necessary. We are perfectly happy to tell you are demands directly.”

“Creature, do you know to whom you speak? If you seek to pillage our world, you have chosen your target poorly.”

“Do not take us for fools, Son of Bor. We know full well who you are. But perhaps it is you who is in the dark.” The creature stopped smiling, and all traces of mirth fell from its features. “Once, we were known as the Sicadinae. That was a long time ago, and those who knew of us have long since perished, their civilisations ended and their language dead. Now we are nameless and forgotten. You need not concern yourself with that, however. It is enough for you to know who we acknowledge as our king.”

“Whom do you serve?”

“Surtur. We serve the Black One.”

“No.” Odin said flatly. “It is not time for that one to stir. The signs-“

“Do you think that we care one whit for whatever signs your backward race chooses to believe must come to pass before your demise? Surtur’s realm was invaded by a Midgardian, and it is well known that you shield them. Surtur doesn’t take such a slight lightly. You and your kind will pay for the transgressions of the human. And then Earth will fall before us.” The creature paused for a brief moment. “Even so, we are inclined to mercy. Surtur has not yet arrived. If you have surrendered before his arrival, then I can assure you that your passing will be swift.”

“No! We shall fight, and I will spit in the face of the Swarthy One should he dare show himself on Asgard. We shall not fall!”

The creature smiled again, and it was the smile of a shark that has sensed blood in the water and knows that its prey will soon die. “Good. We were so hoping that you would say that.”

Once again, the window showed only Heimdall, as it should. “Blow your horn, Heimdall. Everyone who can wield a blade must prepare for battle.”

~*~

The top of the mountain didn’t seem to be getting any nearer. Natasha wasn’t sure how long they’d been walking – she didn’t feel hungry, or tired, and she was sure that the sun hadn’t even moved in the sky – but she would have thought that they’d be at least a little further up. They must’ve been traveling for hours, at least. Of course, this was a magically appearing mountain that even the Asgard were scared to visit, so what did she know?

“Seriously, Loki, what’s the deal with this mountain? I’m not trying to get information out of you, I swear. You can even call me an ignorant human if you like.”

“I could call you that anyway.” Loki said, and there isn’t a hint of humour in his voice. “Look behind you.”

Natasha paused, wondering if this was some kind of ploy and Loki would have vanished by the time she turned back. Only then, he wouldn’t be able to prove himself to Odin. She looked.

And then instantly stumbled backwards as the Hulk raised an enormous fist to smash her into the ground. In her instinctive haste to get away, she badly and nearly fell over – she would have, if Loki hadn’t caught her wrist. He hauled her upright without even the slightest sign of effort. When Natasha looked up, there was no sign of the Hulk. There was, however, Loki, who was openly grinning at her. She realised it had all been an illusion. She fought back the urge to hit him, knowing it wouldn’t accomplish anything other than an injured hand.

“I would apologise, but we both know that wouldn’t be sincere.” Loki said cheerfully.

“Hardly the behaviour of a king.” Natasha muttered.

“Who is here to see me? I have been causing mischief since before you were born, human.”

“Yeah, I get it, you’re bored so you’re going to tease the human. You know, if you weren’t kind of evil you and Stark would make great friends.”

“I would never deign to call a human ‘friend’.”

“Should have seen that once coming.” Natasha stood, and grimaced. She’d wrenched her ankle. “You going to explain what’s going on with the mountain now?”

Loki pointed. “Look. I promise that I am not making any illusions.”

Natasha looked. She didn’t think that even Loki would do the same thing twice. Then she blinked, scrubbed her eyes, and looked back up the top of mountain before looking forward again. “I don’t believe you.”

“Wise. However, in this case I am not deceiving you.”

Natasha still didn’t believe him. She didn’t know how long they had been walking, but it had definitely been several hours.

Which didn’t explain why, when she looked down, she saw that if she took a single step she would be off the mountain. They’d been moving for hours and had gone precisely nowhere.

“This is why trying to find the Norn’s Well is so dangerous. Firstly, this mountain isn’t always here. It moves throughout the nine realms, and sometimes it isn’t anywhere at all. Secondly, if the Norns don’t want to see you then you're never getting anywhere. You just keep plodding along until you get driven stark raving mad. Then, if you’re lucky, they let you off. If you’re not, then you're stuck here until time itself ends.” Loki spread his hands. “Fun, isn’t it?”

~*~

The thing about the shield around Asgard was that, although it wasn’t impenetrable, it was about as close as anyone was going to get. It could withstand several direct hits from the creator of the Frost Giants himself.

No ship was going to break it down.

These ships didn’t even try.

They just moved through the shield like it wasn’t even there. They didn’t even slow down.

Seconds later, dozens, hundreds, thousands of creatures dropped from the ships and landed around Asgard. They weren’t harmed by the fall. Some of them ran along the roofs before climbing in windows and destroying everything they could get their hands on. Others crawled along the walls like giant, overgrown insects. Still others landed in the streets, acting as though the fall had been as easy as stooping off of a curb.

In answer to the invasion, the Asgardian swept up their swords and crashed into the creatures. In response, the creatures’ fingers grew into knives. That is not to say that knives sprung from their fingertips, like claws from a cat. The fingers themselves elongated, growing sharp.

The Asgardians were strong, but the creatures were fast. They had more arms than their opponents, and each finger was a weapon. On top of that, while the Asgardian force soon degenerated into a series of duels, each of the warriors a force by himself, the creatures fought as though they were a single organism. Many times, one of them would aid a comrade or attack a vulnerable Asgardian, seemingly without any form of communication passing between them.

And all of them were gradually converging on Odin’s palace.


	6. Chapter Six

The creatures were everywhere, like a plague. They were on the ceilings, on the walls – the Asgardians were mighty warriors, to be sure, but these creatures thought nothing of dropping on them from above and trying with a great deal of success to unscrew their heads, all while simultaneously slashing at nearby comrades.

The great hall was in chaos. Tables were overturned, windows were broken, chairs smashed. Sif, Volstagg and Fandral were fighting valiantly, but the creatures just kept coming, and coming, and coming. When one of them fell it seemed as though another dozen was just waiting to take its place. The air was thick with the powdery white dust that they seemed to turn into when they were killed, and yet they fought on undiminished.

Finally, the creatures subdued the remaining warriors. It took many of them holding onto Sif’s arms to stop her from wrenching herself free, even with a handful of blades held to her throat.

And then, although the sounds of fighting still drifted in from outside, the creatures simply stood, as though waiting for something.

They didn’t have to wait long. Soon, a towering purple man wearing armour of black and gold walked in. He moved with a nonchalance that belied the battle that still raged, and he walked as though he ruled the planet.

In a sense, with Asgard’s mightiest warriors subdued and soldiers surrounding Odin, perhaps he did.

“Hail, Odin All-Father.” Thanos said, irony dripping from his voice.

“You!” Odin spat with barely controlled anger. “These are your creatures, Death Seeker? I had not thought that even you were so foolhardy as to try an assault on my realm. You would accomplish nothing but failure and the death you so surely crave.”

Thanos gestured with one hand, seeming to encompass the entire room. “Not as doomed to failure as that, I think.”

Odin stood, and slammed the point of his staff into ground. “Then you are mistaken.”

Thanos seemed somewhat taken aback by this. Not by being called wrong, but rather by the beam of energy that had radiated from Odin’s staff in all directions. It didn’t harm Thanos, or the Asgardians – but when it touched the creatures, they burst apart, turning into white powder.

Odin began walking forward. “You are not welcome in my realm. You cannot bring these creatures here and have them claim to be Surtur’s. I know of you, Thanos. I know what you want, and you will not get it here. I could throw you from one end of this realm to the other as easily as a child might throw a ball. Indeed, I think I’ll do just that before I snap you in half.”

The room had been getting steadily colder as Odin spoke. As he moved inexorably towards Thanos, the powder on the ground swirled as though moved by a wind, a wind which wasn’t there. It built itself into dozens, hundreds of spikes all across the room. Odin paused, looking down – and then suddenly the spikes converged on him rushing at him. They broke apart on contact, billowing around him until he was obscured completely. The temperature dropped still further. The great fire in the centre of the hall shrunk and winked out, frost riming on the coals as though they had been cold for days.

And then the dust spread around the room, still driven by the non-existent wind. It coalesced into dozens of statues, which, as the seconds went by, rapidly came to resemble the creatures that Odin had so calmly disintegrated. Then they began to move, alive once more, and it was clear that the dust had been them, just as the bodies that they were wearing now was also them.

Odin, meanwhile, was standing perfectly still. He wasn’t breathing. His eye was open, but it was fixed on nothing. Frost crackled in his beard, in his hair.

A creature stepped forward. “Do not think even for a second that you know who you are dealing with. We do not belong to Thanos. He merely provided us with the tools to get here.” It said to Odin, as though he could hear it. Perhaps he could. “Make no mistake. We are the ones who will destroy you. Not Thanos.”

So saying, the creature turned to Thanos. “We would ask one more boon of you.”

Thanos inclined his head. “You may ask.”

“Our captain, Surtur’s lieutenant, is being held in the dungeons beneath the palace.”

“And you want him freed.” Thanos surmised.

“We do. Once that happens, the Tesseract is yours.”

~*~

Loki and Natasha had stopped moving. Not just because Natasha had injured her ankle, but now that they had stopped moving they had suddenly realised just how hopeless their situation was. They could quite easily stay exactly where they were for the rest of eternity, never moving anywhere.

And they didn’t even get along.

Then, quite suddenly, someone called out. “Ho, the camp!” 

It was a giant of a man, easily over seven foot tall and wide with it. He looked like the kind of man who would have difficulties getting through doorways, let alone blending in with a crowd. It was something of a mystery, therefore, how he had managed to appear so close to them with neither of them noticing. He had a thick grey beard and hair that obscured most of his face, but neither that nor his size was the thing that Natasha noticed about him first.

The first things she noticed were his eyes. They were almond shaped, and bright yellow.

The man smiled, although it didn’t reach his lambent eyes. “So, you’re looking for the Norns, are you? Strange company, a Jotun and a human.”

Loki’s eyes narrowed at that. “And who might you be?”

“Me? I don’t think that’s important, right now. What does it matter who we are in this place?”

“Nevertheless, I find myself wanting to know who you are.”

“And you can go on wanting. I’m not interested in who you are, Jotun, now how you came to be travelling with a human. I suggest you extend the same courtesy to me.”

“How long have you been here?” Natasha interjected. It seemed as though Loki was spoiling for a fight, and even though he wasn’t human, this man obviously wasn’t either, at least not entirely. Not if his eyes were any indication. It would be a good idea to diffuse things.

The man cocked his head. “Not long, I think it’s hard to tell. Things here don’t always happen the way they should. And you?”

Natasha shrugged. “A few hours, I think. You’re right, it’s hard to tell.”

“I don’t suppose you have any supplies, do you? It’s been a long time since I ate, and I am starving.”

There was something about the way the man had said that last word that made Natasha deeply uneasy.

“No.” Loki said shortly.

“A pity. Perhaps a fire then?”

Loki scowled. “Only if it will make you leave faster.” He gestured, and suddenly there was a roaring fire in front of them that looked as though it had been burning for hours.

The man looked surprised by this – not so much by the appearance of the fire itself, but by the way that Loki had summoned it. “Seiðr? What kind of Jotun are you? Is that no longer a womanly art?” The scorn in his voice was incredible.

“I am not a Jotun. I am Loki of Asgard, and I learned from my mother Frigga.” Loki said coldly

The man looked like he was going to say something insulting when Natasha interrupted. Not because she would mind unduly to see Loki insulted, but because she wanted to know exactly what he’d done that made him worthy of it. “What’s sayder?”

“Seiðr.” Loki corrected automatically. “Magic.”

“Women’s’ magic.” The man added. “I did not think that I would see the day when Loki Laufeyson would deign to use it. But then again, this is a different time.”

“Explain.”

“I do not think I wish to explain myself to one such as yourself.” The man said, before yawning as though the conversation bored him. Natasha blinked. Just for a second, the man’s mouth had seemed to be incredibly wide. “In any case, I think it’s about time you moved on. We will meet again, Loki. Look for me again under different circumstances.”

And then he was gone, not leaving even a trace that he had ever been there.


	7. Chapter Seven

Thanos paused. “I was given to understand that your captain was a male.”

The creature that accompanied him looked surprised by this. “Is he not?”

“Quite obviously not.”

Illyria looked up. “Gender is hardly important. I have been male, and I have been female, and I have been genderless. Whichever I currently am does not matter.”

Thanos mulled that over for a second, before walking over the broken carcasses of the men who had been guarding Illyria. He placed a hand on the force field that kept her contained, and pushed.

It shifted, bowing inwards. Had an Asgardian been present, they would have commented on the impossibility of such a thing. But as it was, there was no comment as the shield bowed inwards before breaking entirely. Without pausing, the creature stepped through the gap and lifted Illyria from her seated position, supporting her as she stood.

Thanos frowned. “You seem curiously infirm for a lieutenant of Surtur. Nor are you an eldjötun. I would not think that the World Breaker would ally himself with one such as yourself.”

It wasn’t a question, but Illyria decided to treat it as one anyway. “It took much of my power to allow your ships to bypass the city’s shields in the way they did. It is of no consequence, however. Even now my strength returns.” Illyria shrugged out of the supporting grip of the creature, standing alone. She took a step towards Thanos. “As for my alliance with Surtur… look into my eyes, one who is in love with Death. I have seen worlds fall. I have wiped out civilisations that spanned more dimensions than you have ever seen, and I did so in a single day. I have slain beings so vast that their corpses formed entire galaxies. I have seen my own empire fall, and I myself have died. Look into my eyes, and tell me if you think I would not ally myself with the Black One.”

They stared at each other for several long seconds, but it was Thanos who looked away first. “Very well. Let us proceed to the vaults.”

Illyria smiled slightly. “As you wish.”

~*~

“Do you know who that man was?” Natasha asked.

“I do not.” Loki replied shortly.

“He obviously knew who you were.”

“He knew me by name, but not by appearance. Which is strange. I wager that even on Earth there are not many who would not know my face. I have been among the royal family of Asgard for millennia. It seems unlikely that there is anyone who would not recognise me on sight.”

“Well, he was on some crazy mountain where time doesn’t seem to work properly. Who knows where he knew you from?”

“Nevertheless, it strikes me that I should know him. Something about him was achingly familiar. I am sure that I should know who he is, but at the same time I know that I have never seen him before.” Loki shrugged. “Anyway, it is of no matter. He may well be right. I sense that it is indeed time for us to move on.”

Natasha stood, and took a step forward. Then she almost fell over again.

Natasha was used to walking. Most people were. Putting one foot in front of the other was the primary mode of transport for the vast majority of land-dwelling species, even if the foot itself varied. Taking a step and finding that you haven’t travelled the distance that you would expect but had in fact taken a step that took you miles and miles from where you had last stepped was more than a little disorientating.

Natasha looked behind her, and saw the mountain stretching out behind her, vanishing into the clouds below. She knew that at this height it should have been almost impossible to breathe, but she found it as easy as… well, as breathing. She looked forward again, and was utterly unsurprised to see three identical old women gathered around a well. They hadn't been there just a second before, but now there was no sign that they had never not been there.

“Good day, Agent. I am Urd.” When Urd spoke, Natasha felt a slew of memories well up in her mind, memories that she had long since buried. She remembered her childhood, fighting, training, being moulded into… whatever it was that she was now. She didn’t need to look at Loki to know that he was feeling the same kind of thing.

“Good day, Natasha Romanoff. I am Verdandi.” When Verdandi spoke, Natasha was brought forcibly to the present. She did not dwell on the past, or think about the future. She was only exactly where she stood, listening to Verdandi speak. That was all there was.

“Good day. I am Skuld.” When Skuld spoke, Natasha realised that there dozens, hundreds, untold numbers of possibilities that could come of this conversation, stretching away into the future and causing even more possibilities, and unlimited spider-web of things that could happen. 

There was a long pause as Natasha and Loki gathered themselves. Then Loki bowed his head and said “O Norns, I am here to seek my Wyrd.”

The Norns paid him no heed. Indeed, they didn’t seem to have even heard him. Urd said “Agent, you have been used. You have always been a tool in another’s hand. You have done good, and you have done evil, and you don’t know which is which. How can you? What does a weapon know if the hand that wields it?” 

Verdandi said “So now you try to make amends. You work for yourself. You try to set things right, which is a problem because you don’t know what right is. The man beside you is a killer, perhaps the most dangerous man you have ever met. Yet he also saved your life. You don’t know what to make of him, but more than that you don’t know what to make of yourself.”

Skuld smiled briefly, and just for the length of that smile she was a beautiful young woman with flowing red hair. “Unlike my sisters, I do not have words that strike at the heart of who you are. That is not my gift. They have… mental filters which I do not. Just as the Asgard have filters which you do not. Do you think that everyone feels as you felt when you used the Bifrost? No. You have beheld the universe, and the universe has beheld you. Whatever comes of that will be… interesting, no matter which way the string of fate pulls, no matter who pulls the string. But I can tell you that you will have the chance to make amends for all that you’ve done, if can see it for what it is and seize it with both hands.”

There was silence for a long time, while the pair digested not only what the Norns had said but recovered from the curious mental backlash they felt from hearing them speak. Eventually, Loki spoke. “O Norns, we are not here to discuss the wyrd of this human. It is my wyrd that we seek.”

Skuld looked at him and frowned. “I thought you were taller.”

“That was the last one, sister.” Urd murmured.

“Oh yes, of course.”

Urd said “You are not the first Loki to have sought our guidance. You have stood before us many times before. Each time we have told you the same thing. This time is different. Things are not happening the way they should. Those sit above us are perturbed by this, and seek to wrench things back to the way that things have always been. Beware, Loki. Many are trying to bring about the future that they want, and you could be just a pawn in their hands in you are not careful.”

Verdandi said “Loki, you seek to be that which you are not. You are not a warrior. You are a trickster and a liar. The warrior’s path is not for you, and you should stop trying to walk it. You are a wild card, your own man. You do not need the approbation of others. Nor do you need dominion. You are a catalyst, a reason for change. You are as fickle as a storm, and your allegiance is to no one but yourself. To believe otherwise is foolish.”

Skuld said “You are a fool, Loki. A fool and a dupe. Had you not been so fixated on being something that you are not, you could have saved Asgard from what is befalling it even now. As it is, you could not prevent the deception that allowed you to be sent off world. You can save no one. Go home, Loki, and see the ruin that was brought by your foolishness.”

“I don’t understand. What do you mean? What could I – what should I have done? What do you mean?” Loki said urgently.

“You are too late to stop what is happening, Loki.” Skuld said. “You have not been true to your nature, and now the realms are doomed are damned. Winter is coming.”

~*~

Finally. The Tesseract was finally within Thanos’ reach. Just an almost impenetrable force field stood in his way. Not even the might of Asgard could stop him from taking the Space Stone now. He raised his hand, and the plinth that held the Stone broke apart, torn to pieces by some invisible force. Thanos was a master technician. He knew how such devices were made, and what he could make he could break.

Slowly, the Cube drifted towards his outstretched hand.

He was taken completely by surprise when the creatures fell upon him, their arms working like pistons, driving their knife-like hands into him over and over again.

Beyond them, Thanos saw the Tesseract fall the floor.

Only to be caught by Illyria.

The creatures fell back, and knelt, averting their eyes. Thanos fell to the ground.

The Tesseract began glowing, lit by a blinding light. Illyria looked like she was burning, as though her skin was peeling away, revealing nothing but her bones.

And the temperature in the room kept dropping. Frost appeared on the walls, on the floors. Icicles grew rapidly on ceiling. The stones began to crack from the sudden temperature change.

And Illyria came back together again, flesh reappearing, formed from the empty air. There were cracks in her skin, from which blue light emanated … but they were gradually filled with ice, which in turn faded away to reveal perfectly unblemished skin.

Then Illyria opened her eyes, and if they had been icy blue before that was nothing compared to what they were now.

In one voice, the creatures said “What is your command, O King?”

In response, Illyria just smiled.


	8. Epilogue

Illyria sat down next to Thanos, which surprised him. He was wounded, bleeding, and she had obviously played him so that she could get her forces in place so she could snatch the Tesseract from his grasp. If he had been in her position, he would have ended her without a second thought. Instead, she was just sitting there, and he was healing. Leaving him there wasn’t a good idea. Not that he was complaining.

“You know, I have spent a great deal of the last decade fighting against those who would destroy the world.” Illyria was speaking, but Thanos got the distinct impression that it wasn’t to him, or to the creatures. She was just thinking aloud. “I have lost count of the amount of time that some foe has had one of… my colleagues at a disadvantage and has thrown it away to gloat. Surely, it would be a better idea to simply wipe out any opposition before it had a chance to take root. Now I understand. What good is wiping your opponent of the face of the planet if they do not know the extent to which they are beaten? There is no satisfaction in that.”

Illyria stopped speaking for a second and looked off into the distance. “A human conceit, I think. Perhaps I have been spending too much time with them. No matter.”

“You may have heard that, some months ago, a being known as Ymir rose outside this city and tried to lay waste to this realm. This came to be because of my actions. He fell, and I took his power. By my standards he was weak, but he had one great talent. He was very difficult to kill. He has a disturbing tendency to come back together again, even if he is destroyed on an atomic level. As you pointed out I am somewhat infirm, an unfortunate consequence of life in this shell. Ymir’s essence strengthened me, even allowed me to resurrect my armies, which have been as dust for aeons untold.”

“Why tell me this?” Thanos interrupted. “You have won. Everyone in this city knows it. We do not need to know the details.”

Illyria shrugged. “Perhaps you are right. Perhaps I should send you swiftly to your demise. But you would enjoy that, I suspect, and besides I do not desire to do so.” She held out her hand, which still held the Tesseract. Even as she did so, the Cube burst asunder, revealing the Stone that lay within. Thanos watched as the Stone got absorbed by her flesh, seeming to disappear without a trace. “But I am unassailable now. I have heard, during my travels, that you have claimed the title of the most powerful being in the galaxy. How does it feel to be so humbled?”

Thanos didn’t reply, and no reply was really expected of him.

“You are not alone, however. A few words, a spell and a brief assault was all that it took to convince Odin to send away Loki and the Black Widow. I thought that they might discern my intentions in being here. Perhaps they could have thwarted me. Unlike that fool of a king who has ruled for so long that he was forgotten how to lead. Or you, for that matter. One mention of an entity who only desires to annihilate life and the boon that an alliance with such an entity would give you, and you are falling over yourself to join in.”

Thanos levered himself upright, towering over the seated Old One. He had expected that the creatures would respond to that, perhaps move to defend their king. They did not. Nor did they need to. “I will not sit here to be addressed thus. Either kill me and cease your pointless gloating, or I will leave.”

“Kill you?” Illyria seemed genuinely surprised that he had said that. “I’m not going to kill you. You are useful. Do you think that I would be here if it wasn’t for you, your ships and your ambition? Why would I kill you? No. I am sending you back to where you come from, and you will continue your search for the other Stones. Perhaps you will succeed, although I doubt it. But that is of no consequence.” Illyria turned and looked at him, and Thanos saw the same expression in her eyes that she had had when she had dared him to disbelieve that she would ally herself with Surtur. “You may think that I have been rambling. You may think that I am weak for not killing you when I had the chance. I assure you that that is not so. I have brought Asgard to its knees and stolen an Infinity Stone from out under you, and I have done so with the merest fraction of my power. I am telling you this so that you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what will happen to you should you trouble the people of Earth again. Your torment will become the stuff of legends.”

And then, suddenly, Thanos was elsewhere. Half-way across the galaxy, back on the world that he had made his capital. Illyria had not opened a portal to get him there. The room did not fold in on itself as she altered reality so that he was in one place instead of another. She had simply rearranged space itself.

She looked at her creatures, who had been dead for so long that it was no longer possible to determine when they had been alive, and said “Let’s go home.”

And then the Vault was empty, and at the same time Loki and Natasha found themselves in the throne room. Loki looked around at the destruction, the chaos that had been wrought in his absence, and the words of the Norns echoed in his mind. He knew that he could have prevented this, and he despaired.

~*~

Pietro and Wanda Maximoff were somewhat surprised when a woman with streaks of blue in her hair and what appeared to patches of blue skin flickered into existence outside their cells. Before they had even a chance to say anything, however, she was gone again. A brief second later she was back. “Who are you?” she said, in an American accent.

“I should ask you that, American.” Wanda spat.

Illyria tilted her head. “Would you prefer that I speak like this?” She said, and it was a perfect impersonation of Wanda’s voice, from the accent right down to the cadence pattern.

With her mind, it was easy enough for Wanda to unlock her and brother’s cells. In an instant, Pietro was out of his cell and opening the door to hers. “I’m not going to ask you again. Who are you?” Wanda said, frowning.”

“You’re trying to get inside my head.” Illyria said, so calmly that she might have been commenting on the weather. She was still speaking in Wanda’s voice. “I suggest that you stop. If you don’t, then I just might let you in, and you’ll be lucky if you go insane.”

“If you’re threatening my sister-“ Pietro began angrily.

“Oh, I have no interest in harming her. Quite the opposite. I find her most interesting. No, that wasn’t a threat. That’s simply what’s going to happen if she doesn’t stop digging. She’s quite skilled, for a human.” Illyria paused. “But I am not human. Not even close. I might look like you, sound like you, but do not for even an instant mistake me for one of your kind. Even a glimpse at my mind would break you into pieces.”

Wanda stopped trying to read her thoughts.

“Wise.” Illyria murmured. “Now that we’ve got that settled, I will ask you again. Who are you?”

“Who are you?” Wanda countered. “Because I don’t think that you’re Hydra, which means that you shouldn’t be here.”

“Caution. Good. That will serve you well.” Then Illyria smiled, as though she had told a joke in the sure and certain knowledge that no one was going to understand it yet. “As for who I am, you’ll know that soon enough. Everyone will. Suffice it to be said that I came here looking for… a few things. I did not expect to find two such as you, but I’m sure you’ll be useful.”

“For what?”

“For what happens next.” Illyria said simply, and then she was gone as though she had never been there.

~*~

The Collector was used to visitors. They showed up quite often, trying to claim that whatever bauble they had was some astounding historic artefact worth millions of units. It was part of the reason that he had located himself way out in Knowhere – very few people would bother traveling that far to try and sell him some worthless trinket.

So, the Collector was used to visitors, but he was not used to having them appear out of thin air. It was unusual. Nor had he ever seen a visitor like the one who stood before him now. She was humanoid, clearly, but he’d never seen that particular species before. He about to make an offer for her corpse when she said “I have come to make you an offer.”

The Collector looked her up and down. Besides a tight-fitting cat suit of some material that was just as unique as the woman wearing it, she didn’t seem to be carrying anything with her. “And what might that be?”

Illyria held out a hand, and suddenly there was a sceptre in it, a sceptre containing a dazzling blue gem. The Collector blinked. He hadn’t been expecting that. For a long time now, he’d been trying to track down the Infinity Stones. The Asgardians had given him one, but to have another one brought to him like this – that was unexpected.

In an instant, he had his expression under control. “It is a pretty trifle, but nothing more than that. I will offer you a thousand units, and even that is generous.”

Illyria tilted her head. “Do not take me for a fool. We both know very well what this is. Don’t insult my intelligence again.” The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees.

The Collector inclined his head. “Very well. Carina? Some tea for our… esteemed guest.”

“No. This is business, that is all.” Illyria said coolly. “I am not interested in anything else.”

“Direct. Most commendable.” The Collector murmured. “Shall we get down to it, then? What do you want in return?”

“The Aether.” Illyria said simply.

The Collector started, surprised for the third time in as many minutes. “Surely you can’t be serious? You expect me to trade one Stone for another? That is no trade at all.”

“You cannot use the Aether.”

“Nor can you. Nor can anyone, now that Malekith is dead. It is too unstable.” The Collector paused. “I am curious, though. You have the Mind Stone. I would think that that would be more than capable of accomplishing whatever you are planning to with the Aether, and is easier to use my several orders of magnitude. Why would you try to swap them?”

Illyria waved the sceptre with a negligence that made the Collector squirm where he stood. “I have no need of this. As for my designs with the Aether… that is my own concern.”

“With all due respect, it is you who came to me. I am not obliged to trade. I suggest you be forthcoming.”

Illyria didn’t move. The Collector was absolutely sure that there was no signal that he missed, but suddenly Illyria was flanked by two ice blue creatures with too many arms. In each of their hands they held some kind of gun that the Collector had never seen before. The guns crackled with energy, blue sparks occasionally running across their surfaces. All of them were pointed at him.

Illyria held up a finger. At first, the Collector thought that it was a warning, telling her creatures not to shoot. Then he saw something moving, emerging from the tip of her finger. Soon, a glowing stone stood perfectly balanced on her fingertip. “I have one Stone already.” Illyria said. “It is perfectly sufficient for my purposes. The Mind Stone is of no use to me, but perhaps you can use it. It will certainly be useful for your business. The Aether, however, is of no use to you. If you even try to use it, it will destroy you. So this trade is more advantageous than you think.”

Then, suddenly, Illyria was right in front of the Collector. “If, however, you refuse, then you leave me no recourse but to obliterate you, your collection… this entire colony, if necessary. I will have the Aether. The question is whether you will trade for it, or whether I have to find it myself. I assure you that I can, but you will not survive the attempt. Something which you will doubtlessly be grateful for, come the end.”

~*~

The Slayer building in Cleveland was, without a doubt, the most heavily warded building in the city. There were dozens of spells keeping unwanted people out, even on the astral plane. No one should have been able to set a foot inside if they weren’t supposed to be there.

These wards had been doubled and trebled once Dawn had told her sister about what had happened in Yakutsk.

Nevertheless, when Illyria appeared in Dawn’s room one evening, not once single alarm was triggered. Not one single spell was broken, and yet there Illyria was, looking as though she had always been there.

Dawn wasn’t that surprised, really. She’d been expecting Illyria to come back for a while now. Leaving behind a powerful energy source didn’t really seem like the Old Ones style. “Hey, Blue. How’s things?”

Illyria gave the question some thought. “I believe that my things are well.”

“So, what brings you to this neck of the woods?” Dawn said, calmly waiting to be abducted. She was, according to Illyria, actually the Aether. If an Old One, bitter about having lost an empire, showed up in the room of someone who could supposedly alter reality then she was only there for one reason.

“I came to give you something.”

Of course, to give her a present. How could she expect anything else? “What is it?”

Suddenly, Illyria was holding a canister. It was mostly dark, but a thin strip glowed redly. Dawn’s eyes were drawn to it like a magnet, and he hand reached out to take it without her even thinking about it. “It’s the Aether.” Illyria said calmly, as though she gave massively powerful objects away every day.

Dawn jerked her hand back as though she had been burned. “What? No, it can’t be. I thought it was locked away somewhere, somewhere far away from here.”

“Yes?”

Dawn took a deep breath. “How did you get that, Blue?”

“I bought it.”

“No, seriously.”

Illyria didn’t respond.

Dawn hadn’t taken her eyes off the canister, even when she’d been talking to Illyria. She couldn’t look away. “What am I meant to do with it?”

“Open it.” Illyria said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Under other circumstances, Dawn would have protested, called Illyria crazy, flat out refused. But she didn’t. She wanted to open it. It was like a full on physical craving. She could barely stop herself from reaching out and opening it right then and there. “I’m pretty sure that’s a bad idea.” She murmured, almost inaudibly. She spoke so quietly because she thought that maybe if Illyria heard her, the Old One might realise just how ridiculous offering the Aether to her would be, and she didn’t want Illyria to take it away again.

“It isn’t. This is you. You have been divided for… so long that it doesn’t even make sense to try and work out when it happened.” Illyria held out her the canister, and it took all of Dawn’s willpower not to wrench it away from her. “It will protect you. I will teach you how not to use it.”

Dawn wasn’t sure if she’d heard correctly. “What? How not to use it?”

“Playing with reality is dangerous, Dawn. I have seen where it can lead. If you are wise, you will take this power and you won’t use it, no matter how strong the temptation. On top of that, it is barely stable. Changing things would be… ill-advised.”

Dawn nodded, although truthfully she was hardly listening. “Good. Fine. Whatever.” Her hand reached out to take it.

~*~

The interview which was to become the most watched single news episode in the world took everyone by surprise. It had supposedly been called by Tony Stark, who wanted to reveal something. Given that the last time that something like this had happened had been when he had declared himself to be Iron Man, this already lead to a lot of viewers tuning in.

“Hello, this is Alexander Knox, and we’re here waiting on the word of Tony Stark, who apparently has something he wants to tell us. But first, we have what we’re told is going to be a spectacular demonstration from one of Stark Industries top scientists, Dr Burkle. Knowing Mr Stark, I’m sure that’s an understatement.”

The camera cut to a woman in a smart dress, with brown hair and brown eyes. “Firstly, Mr Knox, I have something to tell you.” She said in a thick Texan accent. “Mr Stark’s not actually coming.”

“Ah.” Knox looked disappointed, but he hid it well. “Called away on Avengers business, no doubt.”

“No, I mean, he doesn’t even know that this meeting is taking place. He certainly didn’t sanction it.” Dr Burkle paused, and then said in a voice that did not sound like but was Stark’s voice, right down to the intonation. “I could talk in his voice if it would make you more comfortable though.”

Knox looked distinctly perturbed by this. He was aware of Gifted people, of course he was, but they tended not to get interviewed live on television. They were usually scooped up by S.H.I.E.L.D., although these days they were more likely to go into hiding from Hydra. “What exactly is going on, then?”

“Tell me, Mr Knox, do you believe in the things that go bump in the night?”

Knox paused, but his producers were telling him to carry on. Whatever this was, it was newsworthy. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Demons. Vampires. Witches. Things like that. Do you believe they exist?”

Knox scoffed. He couldn’t help himself. Aliens were one thing, people with powers something else, but demons? That was too far out there, even for him. Even for this world he was living in. “No. No, I don’t.”

Dr Burkle leant forward. “Then you would be wrong, Mr Knox. Dead wrong, more than likely.” There was something disturbing about that, because she was still speaking in Stark’s voice.

“You expect me to believe that there are really demons out there? You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Oh, they definitely exist. I can tell you for certain. I can tell you because I am one.”

Knox was about to say something gently sarcastic about how people were no longer alien nuts and so had to come up with different obsessions (although having a powered person think she was demon was new on him) when the words dried on his lips.

Because he was no longer sitting opposite a pretty brunette who was perfectly ordinary besides a tendency to speak in other people’s voices. He was sitting opposite someone who was wearing what appeared to be some kind of cat suit, who had blue streaks in her hair and blue patches on her skin. Standing on either side of her were two ice blue creatures with too many arms. “Do you believe me now, Alexander?”

Knox couldn’t have replied even if he’d wanted to. He wanted his producers to cut this off, end the broadcast, but he knew they wouldn’t. A live interview with a demon? Of course they wouldn’t.

Illyria turned to face the camera. “Do all of you think that the first time the world was threatened by non-human beings was when Loki invaded with his Chitauri? No. For more centuries than you can know, demons and vampires and magic users have been trying to end the world. Look at how many deaths have been chalked up to incidents involving barbecue forks. Go on. Each time someone came close, they were stopped. The world was saved. Not in some bright, shiny way by a group of superheroes, no. The world was saved and you didn’t even notice. There is an organisation called the Watchers Council. They watch, and when the time comes they act. You do not see them. You do not even know they are there, but they have saved you hundreds, thousands of times.”

Knox recovered his voice enough to ask “Do you represent this, this Council?”

Illyria paused. “At this point in time, no, I do not. I am Illyria, and I represent myself.”

“So why are you here, then?”

“Time and again, the world has been saved. By the Council or the Avengers, it is of no consequence. But each time it is a small force, and do you know why? Large forces are slow. They cannot be everywhere, and they cannot travel quickly. A small force can be exactly where it is needed, and it can do exactly what it is needed. That is why S.H.I.E.L.D. failed. Large organisations do not work. They cannot even police themselves, let alone a world that is constantly growing.”

“What do you suggest?” Knox said, hoping that if he asked enough vague questions he wouldn’t seem quite so shell-shocked. Even then, he felt like he was along for the ride. He tried not to stare at the creatures.

Illyria continued as though he hadn’t spoken. “S.H.I.E.L.D. had the right idea, though. The ideology. To protect everyone. But they couldn’t be everywhere, and they couldn’t do everything. But I can.”

Knox felt that something was expected of him. “How?”

Illyria flickered, and the was suddenly just in front of Knox. Then she was back in her seat. “I can be anywhere. With these people, the Sicadinae, we can be everywhere.” As if in demonstration, the creatures burst appeared, turning into a fine powder. Snow, Knox dimly realised. Each individual flake spread throughout the room, before recombining at the other end. “The population of the Sicadinae is without limits. There are as many of them as there are insects. We can be everywhere. When Hydra strikes, we can stop them. When the next threat arrives, we can stop that too. When a drunk driver falls asleep at the wheel and is about to crash into someone, we’ll even that. We will be what S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn’t be. We will be a true shield.”

Illyria smiled beatifically. “No one need fear winter again. We are the snow, and we will be everywhere. We will be everywhere, and everyone will be safe.”

~*~

“You should have seen him, sister!” Thundered the man with yellow eyes. “And effeminate shell, emasculated by his crippling emotional issues. No wonder I was brought back. It doesn’t look like I'm even going to be born this time around, not unless someone takes him and makes him a man.”

The woman he spoke to sat in a chair that could only been described as a throne, and she sat there as though it was not only her right, but as though it had been her right for a very, very long time. “Hush. It isn’t time yet. Winter has only just begun.”

Although the man with yellow eyes was taller by far than the woman, and looked as though he could have snapped her between two fingers, he immediately stopped talking. 

The woman looked thoughtfully at an ornate device that resembled nothing so much as a red rooster. “Winter has only just begun, Fenris, but the time grows near. Things have been put into motion. Everyone begins to dance on the strings of those who sit above. Soon, the End Time will begin.”

Fenris smiled, and his expression was hungry. “Good, Hela. I do not think I can wait long.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to.”


End file.
